Exploring Unanswered Questions in Earth Science Amy Pallant (PI), The Concord Consortium, Concord, MA This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No DRL Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. “Very few see science as the high adventure it really is, the wildest of all explorations ever taken by human beings, the chance to catch close views of things never seen before, the shrewdest maneuver for discovering how the world works. Instead, they become baffled early on, and they are misled into thinking that bafflement is simply the result of not having learned all the facts.” -- Lewis Thomas Students will: Hear scientists talking about their work Manipulate computer models to investigate aspects of the topic Gain experience in scientific exploration and an appreciation for how much is not yet known The Models What is unknown or uncertain? Are students thinking about what is known and unknown? What are the science process ideas that are important and treated in our modules? Do our models give students some experience with what is known and with model limitations? Our Treatment Implement two 5-day units. Include multiple measures through pre- and post-tests for content and nature of science. Conduct classroom observation. Collect nature of science survey. Conduct teacher interviews and collect implementation feedback. Design Principles Students learn about unsolved science topics in the way science proceeds. Students experiment with computational models. Students learn deeply by exploring their models’ emergent behavior. Students connect to frontier research and how scientists use models in their own research. The Unanswered Questions What will Earth’s climate be in the future? Is there life on other planets? Will there be enough fresh water? The Unanswered Questions What will Earth’s climate be in the future? Is there life on other planets? Will there be enough fresh water? The Goal To expose students to unanswered questions that scientists are currently investigating To investigate a new strategy for engaging students in the nature of science Our Research Does this approach increase student understanding of the scientific process? How do student content gains compare with traditional approaches? Students as Scientists Can the models help students understand the problems that scientists are grappling with? Why do climate scientists care about ocean CO 2 absorption ? Why do astronomers have difficulty finding Earth- sized planets.? In short, we want students to imagine that they are scientists addressing these problems. Scientists look for planets by analyzing the light coming from the stars the planets orbit. In this model, students experiment with a planet’s size, mass, and angle of orbit, to learn how scientists interpret the light data. Climate models are some of the most complex models in science. In this model students experiment with a few variables and observe the outcome on global temperature in the same way scientists use their models.